Congress is currently focused on passing a stopgap spending bill, or continuing resolution, to extend federal funding through December 2026, aiming to avert a government shutdown before the upcoming elections. Federal grant administration rules and SNAP funding, among other priorities, could be at stake for Georgia cities.
House members have left Capitol Hill for a five-week recess in their districts, while the Senate is still in session considering its own continuing resolution and potentially delaying its recess. Funding expires September 30, which leaves both chambers only a few weeks after Labor Day to reach a deal.
House Proposal
On July 21, the House passed a short-term continuing resolution designed to extend federal funding through December 4. The vote fell largely along party lines. The “clean” measure maintains current spending levels without accommodating key updates sought by the administration or appropriators. This version notably omits any action to halt the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) controversial effort to overhaul federal grant administration.
Senate Proposal
The Senate, by contrast, has proposed a bipartisan continuing resolution running through December 11, offering not only a slightly longer negotiating window but also explicit language delaying the implementation of the OMB grant rule until December 11. Senate leaders from both parties have signaled concern that the proposed changes could politicize grantmaking and destabilize funding streams that local governments, nonprofits, universities, and research institutions rely on. The Senate bill also includes language sought by Democrats to ensure Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement don’t get any new funding under the stopgap measure.
The Senate measure still needs to clear both chambers before being signed into law – a process that remains uncertain as negotiations continue. A Senate vote on the elections-related SAVE America Act, which the President has called his top legislative priority, also remains unresolved. Also at play in the Senate are a slate of Trump nominees to confirm, a bipartisan college sports bill, and a Russia sanctions bill.
SNAP Funding
The farm bill failed to advance out of the Senate Agriculture Committee in the August 6 mark-up. At issue is a provision to delay requirements that states pay for part of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, included in the One Big Beautiful Bill passed last year. Agriculture Chair John Boozman offered a one-year delay while Democrats are asking for two years.
Under the proposal, states with SNAP payment error rates above 6% would begin paying a share of benefit costs starting in FY 2028, with the share increasing for higher error rates in later years, all part of a broader $187 billion reduction to the program. Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, who serves on the committee, underscored the impact these cuts would have on Georgia families, particularly given the financial strain the cost-shift mechanism would place on states with higher payment error rates.
Republicans needed support from at least one Democrat to advance the bill out of committee, given Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s prolonged absence. The Democrat ranking member opposed the GOP-led farm bill due to the lack of SNAP protections, voting in line with her party. As a result, the farm bill’s path forward remains uncertain, with its progress now dependent on either renewed bipartisan negotiations or McConnell’s return
You can learn more about what’s in the House-passed farm bill for cities from the National League of Cities.